The fact is, he's shy! He never had any
sisters, and spends all his time in winter at that horrid club; so
that really he has never had any women's society, and even with us
he will never come unless he knows we are alone. I call it a great
pity, for I don't know a pleasanter fellow than he is. I think it
will be doing him a real service in asking Minnie; so that's settled.
I will sit down and write him a note."
"In for a penny, in for a pound, I suppose," was Tom Virtue's comment
when he received Mrs. Grantham's letter, thanking him warmly for
the invitation, and saying that she would bring her cousin, Miss
Graham, with her, if that young lady was disengaged.
As a matter of self defense he at once invited Jack Harvey, who
was a mutual friend of himself and Grantham, to be of the party.
"Jack can help Grantham to amuse the women," he said to himself;
"that will be more in his line than mine. I will run down to Cowes
tomorrow and have a chat with Johnson; we shall want a different
sort of stores altogether from those we generally carry, and I
suppose we must do her up a bit below."
Having made up his mind to the infliction of female passengers,
Tom Virtue did it handsomely, and when the party came on board at
Ryde they were delighted with the aspect of the yacht below.
Pages:
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184